Computer making whirring noises

My computer is making a whirring noise--I think its the fan because it heats up alot. It also decides to shut down at random times or freeze completely. Im wondering if this is to do with the fan? and how much does it cost to replace a fan? It's a Sony Vaio running Windows XP.

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BritKit via windows-xp-pro-l wrote:
>
>
> My computer is making a whirring noise--I think its the fan because it
> heats up alot. It also decides to shut down at random times or freeze
> completely. Im wondering if this is to do with the fan? and how much
> does it cost to replace a fan? It's a Sony Vaio running Windows XP.

Open it up to find out which fan it is. Fan are fairly cheap and easy to replace. Also, if you only have a CPU fan in there you may want to invest a few more bucks to put 1 or 2 system fans in there to draw out the heat. While it is open make sure to get all the dust out of all your components.

First, you need to gather as much information as you can. It could be case
fan, which is an easy job. But I doubt it, since you mention that the
computer shuts down randomly. That seems a little more serious and a little
more involved. I would wonder if the Processor fan is starting to go?

How old is the unit?

You can check motherboard/cpu for errors in the BIOS. Start the system, then
immediately press the key sequence that allows you access to BIOS . usually
F2 or F1 will get you into system setup/BIOS. Look for diagnostics, what you
want to find is the environmental reports, that will give you temperature of
the MB/CPU. You can let it run for a while, see if the temps start to climb.

It could also be something as simple as blockage on the exhaust fans or
dirty fans, dust on the components. I you are lost, then take it in for a
cleaning and diagnostic at an authorized dealers. The fix is not hard, but
its real easy to damage something without realizing what you have done.

Overheating CPU due to a bad fan will cause the random shutdowns you are
having. If it's under warranty it won't cost you anything, but if it's
out of warranty it could probably be anywhere from $100-$200 because of
the labor. You don't say if it's a laptop or PC, but being a Sony
basically means it's not a good idea to try to fix it yourself.
http://www.hibco.com/vaio/

hi all, sonys are notorious for problems but try running a program called speedfan the free version this will tell you all your fan speeds and if you click on exotics and show the magic it will give you all your power as well. from there you may be able to work out what the trouble is.
grandad 61

Hello,
It seems like you are right , its a fan problem. If you can research on google on how to open your laptop you can put a little ( that a nidle tip can hold) cooking oil on the hub of the cooling fan it will smoothen your fan and your problem will be solved temporarily. In long run you may consider changing the cooling fan. I am doing this since last one year to my laptop's fan!!
Kalpesh Dalwadi

I think it's not your fan, try cleaning first the air vents of your
laptop and if you can open your laptop and look inside if it has lot of
dust. The reason why it's making whirling noise is because, the
temperature sensor in your processor gets triggered due to high
temperature, triggering your fan to go to high speed to compensate the
heat. But if the air vents are clogged with dusts, even if the fan is
at full power the heat of your processor will still be high thus causing
triggering your laptops safety mechanism to powerdown/shutdown to
prevent your processor from burning.

On 2/19/09, BritKit via windows-xp-pro-l
<email@removed wrote:
>
>
> My computer is making a whirring noise--I think its the fan because it heats
> up alot. It also decides to shut down at random times or freeze completely.
> Im wondering if this is to do with the fan? and how much does it cost to
> replace a fan? It's a Sony Vaio running Windows XP.
>
>
>150rs

"Cooking oil"???? NO, NO, NO! Never use cooking oil or salad oil. Because they tend to thicken as OVER TIME AND HEAT they oxidize, polemerize and then become like GLUE !
Years ago a friend had used olive oil on her sewing machine, and eventually it seized up. I spent a week or more soaking each part in regular motor oil to dissolve the gunk. Lesson learned.
First use a houshold vacuum cleaner to BLOW into the vents, or even the keyboard cleaner pressurized gas to blow out the dust and worst of all CAT FUR.
As for oil, the usual formulae is to use lighter weight oil on smaller parts or faster rotating parts and use heavier oil or even grease on very slow moving parts. Watchmakers use 3 or more grades of oil depending on the differing parts in a watch, heavier oil in a clock and grease for sliding parts in big clocks. Don't use WD-40 as it is fish oil and volatiles. It also tends to spread or creep beyond where put.
Hope this helps.

HI
Sounds as if it could be.
Take the case off start the computer up & look at the fan, does it look
slow? Stop the fan with your finger & immediately you remove your finger it
should accelerate to full speed, if it doesn't then its probably the CPU
Fan, does the graphics card have a fan on it?
Greg

Thanks Guys--I did google how to do it myself, but im thinking of just biting the bullet and sending it in for repairs (ouch). Maybe i'll try the compressed air solution before this--my cat actually sheds ALOT. Thanks again!!

Kdalwadi, Perhaps you did not read my message to the group about oils.
Look back in this group and see. In summary, vegetable oils, like
olive, canola soybean, linseed, or ANY vegetable oils you should NOT
use. Because they get gummy and stiff over time and heat.